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Wilhelm Böckmann (29 January 1832 – 22 October 1902) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
architect who worked briefly as a foreign advisor to the government of
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


Early career

Böckmann was born in Elberfeld, near
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and to ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
where his father was a teacher of mathematics. He initially entered the Gymnasium to follow in his father’s footsteps, but dropped out after two years to complete an
apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...
as a carpenter. In 1854, he entered the
Bauakademie The Bauakademie (''Building Academy'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education school for the art of building to train master builders. It originated from the construction department of the Academy of Fine Arts and Mechanical Sciences (from ...
, in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, an architectural school housed in what is considered one of the forerunners of
modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...
due to its theretofore uncommon use of red brick and a relatively streamlined façade. His studies were interrupted for a year by military service, and by another year spent travelling abroad with his friend
Hermann Ende Hermann Gustav Louis Ende (4 March 1829 – 10 August 1907) was a German architect noted for his work in Germany, Japan and elsewhere. Biography Ende was born in Landsberg an der Warthe, Prussia (modern-day Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland ...
. In 1859, he passed his First State Examination with high marks. He established the architectural firm, “Böckmann and Ende” in 1860. In 1864 Böckmann was invited to speak before the Paris Institute of Architects. In 1868, he founded a technical journal, the '' Deutsche Bauzeitung''. He became chairman of the Architects and Engineers Association in Berlin from 1869. Most of the buildings he designed were in the neighborhood of Berlin, especially villas in district of Tiergarten, with many found within the diplomatic quarter. He was also active in the residential areas of Potsdam Neubabelsberg and designed various buildings for the
Berlin Zoo The Berlin Zoological Garden (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,2 ...
. Few of these buildings have survived
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Career in Japan

Böckmann was invited to Japan by the
Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
in 1887 to develop a plan to rebuild
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
into a modern national capital. He spent two months investigating the terrain and put together a draft plan with an outline for a new Ministry of Justice building. His plan was a magnificent
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
city comparable to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
or Berlin, but he left Japan with the Japanese authorities gasping at the tremendous budget which would be required. His visit was followed in 1887 by his partner, Hermann Ende, who brought designs for other governmental buildings, including the Ministry of Justice and a new
Diet building The is the building where both houses of the National Diet of Japan meet. It is located at Nagatachō 1-chome 7–1, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Sessions of the House of Representatives take place in the south wing and sessions of the House of Councillor ...
. However, the project was soon derailed by Inoue Kaoru for budgetary reasons, as well as a growing cultural backlash in Japan against mimicking Western architecture. Ende was sent home and plans for a branch office of Böckmann and Ende in Tokyo came to an end. The Japanese government, however, did keep his designs for the new Ministry of Justice building, which was completed in 1895, albeit by another company. Back in Germany, Böckmann continued his architectural design work. He became Berlin Zoo Association Director in 1893 and President from 1897. Böckmann was made an Honorary Member of Institute of Architects in 1902, and died later the same year in Berlin.


Noted works

* 1864–1865: Old Synagogue (Elberfeld), (rebuilt in 1938: destroyed) * 1867: Bank HF Lehmann in
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...
* 1871–1874: Prussian Soil Bank in Berlin * 1872–1874: Deutsche Union-Bank in Berlin * 1873: several buildings in the
Berlin Zoological Garden The Berlin Zoological Garden (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,2 ...
(e.g., Elephant House, antelopes, big cat house) * 1875: "Oak Castle" for Baron Saint Paul in the Hirschberger Valley (
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
) * 1875–1876: Architects Association of Berlin (1934; demolished) * 1876–1877: Café Bauer in Berlin * 1881–1885: Museum of Ethnology in Berlin * 1882–1883: Helms Café in Berlin * 1883: House of the Estates in Danzig * 1883: Sedan panorama at
Berlin Alexanderplatz station Berlin Alexanderplatz is a German railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin's city centre. It is one of the busiest transport hubs in the Berlin area. The station takes its name from its location on Alexanderplatz, near the Fernsehturm and ...
* 1884–1886: Residential house Voßstraße 33 in Berlin ( Böckmann lived in this building. Later, after a conversion and extension in the 1930s - opposite Hitler had the former Reich Chancellery built - the Palais served the Deutsche Reichsbahn as an administrative building until 1989.) * 1885: "Schiess'sches House" in
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
* 1887: Synagogue in Danzig * 1895: Justice Department in Tokyo, Japan


References

*Checkland, Olive. ''Japan and Britain after 1859: creating cultural bridges''. Routledge (2002). *Conant, Ellen P. Reassessing the Rokumeikan. University of Hawaii (2006).


External links


Photos of Ministry of Justice, Tokyo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boeckmann, Wilheim 19th-century German architects Architects from Wuppertal 1832 births 1902 deaths Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan Academic journal editors